Innocence
by madeleine68
Summary: Olivia meets a litte boy who needs her help and decides to let him stay with her. Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

"I got him," said Olivia. "He's here, at the subway station."

"Gavin Carlisle?" asked Cragen over the phone.

"Yup. Caucasian, five years old, dark blonde hair, blue eyes, blue turtleneck and jeans. Fits the little boy's description. He has a nasty bruise on his face, though. He looks worse for wear."

"Well, he's only been missing for a day or so, so it can't be that bad."

"Yeah. I'm going to talk to him, okay? I'll be back in about an hour."

"Okay." The captain hung up.

Olivia approached the little boy. She crouched down in front of him. "Hey, Gavin."

He looked up with widened eyes and whispered, "Hi."

"Gavin, my name is Olivia. I'm a police officer."

Gavin shook her head. "I'm not s'post to talk to police officers."

"Yeah? Well, sometimes it's a good thing to talk to police officers, especially if someone's hurting you. Because police officers can help you when bad things happen, Gavin. Everyone was really worried about you, sweetie."

"But Mommy and Daddy say police officers are bad."

"And why do they say that?"

The little boy shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know."

"Well, Gavin, how's this? We're going to go for a ride to the police station and we're going to have a talk, okay?"

He started to tremble. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, of course not, sweetie. I just want to talk to you about your mommy and daddy and about what happened. Come on." She held out her hand and led the little boy to her car.

When they reached the police station, Olivia took Gavin into a room filled with toys. He sat down at the table, glancing around at the toys longingly but not touching any of them.

She sat down next to him. "You can play if you want to, Gavin," she encouraged him.

He looked around the room as if she had just given him the sun, the moon, and the stars. "Can I play with anything?"

Olivia smiled at him and nodded.

"Will you do a puzzle with me?"

"Okay."

"Can we do the dinosaur one?"

"Sure."

They sat down on the floor and dumped out the puzzle pieces. Gavin got to work on the outside pieces.

They worked in silence for a few moments. Then Olivia said, "So Gavin, what were you up to for the last day?"

He didn't say anything, just slid the head of a Tyrannosaurus Rex into place.

"Gavin?" prompted Olivia. "I need you to tell me what happened?"

The little boy looked into her eyes. "Okay, but you can't get mad at me."

"I won't," she assured him. "I promise. Now tell me what happened."

"Daddy got mad at me and he said that I either had to get into the cage and take my punishment like a man or get out."

"What cage?"

"The punishment cage. When you're bad, you have to go in there."

"Okay. So what did you do?"

He looked at the ground. "I didn't finish my veggies. I wasn't hungry."

"So what did your daddy do?"

"He told me to get in the car and he drove me to the park. Then he left me there."

Olivia paused, considering this. The parents who had called to report their son missing had abandoned their five-year-old at Central Park?

"'Livia," said Gavin, yawning. "I'm tired. Can I go to sleep?"

Olivia swallowed. "We need to finish talking first, sweetie."

He shook his head. "I don't want to talk anymore."

Captain Cragen knocked on the door and called Olivia out into the hall. "Liv, I don't feel comfortable returning this little boy to his parents. Let's keep him here overnight."

She nodded. "Okay. It is late. I'll take care of him."

"You going to stay here?"

"Can I bring him to my place?"

"Your call, Olivia."

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning, Captain."

"'Livia?" lisped Gavin sleepily when Olivia came back into the room. "Can I come home with you?"

"Yup. We're going now, sweetie. I'm just going to grab my stuff."

"'Kay."

"I'll be right back. You stay here."

Gavin yawned. "'Kay."

When she got back, the little boy was sound asleep. Olivia lifted him into her arms. She felt him flinch, but she whispered in his ear, "Shh, sweetie, it's just me. You can stay asleep." He relaxed in her arms and closed his eyes again.

She carried him to the car and buckled him into the backseat.

When they reached Olivia's place, she carried him into the guest bedroom and tucked him in. She watched him for a moment, sleeping so peacefully, before going to bed herself.


	2. Chapter 2

Olivia awoke to the sound of muffled crying. She sat up in bed and listened hard. Cautiously, she climbed out of bed and padded toward Gavin's room. She opened the door, but the little boy's bed was not only empty, but stripped down.

She heard the sound of the washing machine. Perplexed, she made her way to the laundry room. "Gavin?"

She opened the door to the laundry room. Gavin looked up, a deer in headlights, and raised her hands to cover his face. "Please don't punish me," he babbled. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident. Don't spank me!"

Olivia noticed that Gavin was wearing a different pair of pajamas and his eyes were red-rimmed, his face tearstained. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened – Gavin had wet the bed and was washing his clothes.

She leaned against the wall and put her hand on Gavin's shoulder. He flinched. "Of course it isn't your fault, Gavin. It was an accident. Sometimes when we stay in a new place, things like this happen because it's unfamiliar. But I would never punish you for an accident. And I would never, _ever_ hit you. Hitting children is wrong, Gavin, and I would never hurt you."

Gavin looked at the ground. "But sometimes if you're bad, then it's the grownups' job to punish you so you learn. I'm not a baby, so wetting the bed is bad. And when you're bed, you have to get a spanking."

Olivia was torn between comforting the child and finding out more. "Gavin, you're five. You're not bad. You're not capable of _being_ bad. Maybe sometimes you make mistakes and do something wrong, but that doesn't make you a bad person. Who told you that?"

"Mommy and Daddy," he whispered.

"So when you wet the bed, they spank you?"

He nodded. "So I would wash my sheets and my pajamas before they got up, but then the last time they caught me and they got angry. I'm sorry I tried to hide it. Please don't give me a punishment! I'll be good, I promise."

She sighed. "Gavin, I'm not going to hurt you. Why don't we go into the kitchen? I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate and we can talk."

He looked at her through wide eyes, seeming not to believe his good fortune.

Olivia held out her hand and gave him a small smile. "Come on."

Gavin followed her to the kitchen and sat down while Olivia heated up the milk. She made a cup for him and one for herself, then sat down across from him.

"So, Gavin," she said conversationally as Gavin took a sip of his hot chocolate. "What else do your mommy and daddy do to you?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not s'post to talk about it."

"Well, remember, Gavin, I'm a police officer. And it's okay to tell police officers things, even if you promised not to tell. If someone's hurting you, then you need to tell a police officer because we can help you."

"Okay," the little boy conceded. "If I'm bad, they sometimes give me hot sauce or soap – to clean out my dirty mouth. And sometimes they make me stay in the basement and I can't get out, 'cause they lock me in. And – and sometimes they spank me."

"How do they spank you?"

"With Daddy's belt sometimes. And sometimes they use other things."

"Like what?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes the 'lectric cord. Or a ruler. Or their hands."

With difficulty, Olivia continued, "Where do they hit you?"

He put his hands on his cheeks.

"They hit your face?"

He nodded.

"Can you show me where else they hit you?"

Gavin stood up. He touched his back, his stomach, his legs, his arms, and then burst into tears. He ran his hands up and down his entire body.

"Oh, sweetie. Okay. It's okay." She held out her arms and Gavin climbed into her lap, wiping his eyes. She rocked him in her arms until his sobs subsided and he fell back into a fitful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Gavin was coloring the next morning when Olivia took Captain Cragen aside and explained to her what the little boy had told her the previous night. "He isn't safe there, Captain."

The captain nodded. "I'll bring them in for questioning. We might have a child abuse case here. You take the boy to the ER and have him examined, just to make sure he's in good enough physical condition."

"Can we get Warner to do it?"

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

* * *

Olivia lifted Gavin up onto the examining table. "Gavin," she said as Melinda Warner walked into the room. "This is my friend, Melinda. She's going to take a look at you, okay?"

Gavin looked up through wide eyes and nodded.

"Gavin, I need you to take off your shirt for me," said Melinda.

He shook his head. "I can't."

"Why can't you?" asked Olivia.

"Mommy and Daddy will be angry," murmured Gavin.

"How about this, Gavin? Your mommy and daddy won't ever find out, okay? It'll be between you, me, and Melinda."

"Like a secret?"

"Kind of. But this is an okay kind of secret. There are some kinds of secrets that you shouldn't keep, like if someone hits you. But doctors and police officers are here to help you."

Gavin nodded reluctantly. "Okay." He lifted up his shirt.

Instantly, Olivia saw why Gavin hadn't wanted to take off his shirt. His back and arms were covered by a series of raw red welts and black and blue bruises. Several of the bruises had yellowed.

"Wow, Gavin," said Olivia, trying to keep her emotions in check. "That looks like it must hurt."

The little boy nodded and burst into tears.

Olivia held out her arms and hugged him. "It's going to be okay, sweetie," she whispered. "You're going to be just fine."

Gavin sat up and wiped his eyes with his hand.

"How did they happen, Gavin?" asked Melinda.

"From a spanking," he whispered. "And my stomach – Daddy kicked me."

Both women noticed black and blue bruises around Gavin's ribs and yellow ones around his stomach. They had been so focused on his back that they had missed the bruises.

"Here's what I'm going to do," she told him. "I need to check to see if your ribs are all right. So I'm going to put my hand on your chest and you tell me if it hurts, okay?"

Gavin nodded and winced as Melinda examined his ribs. The third time she did so, he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"It isn't broken, just badly bruised," the medical examiner informed Olivia. "I'm going to bandage up the welts on his back, but after that, he'll be just fine."

"You were really brave," Olivia said as Melinda bandaged up Gavin's back. When she was finished, Olivia helped him put his shirt back on, took his hand, and helped him off the table. "Thanks, Melinda."

"No problem," she replied. "You take care. You, too, Gavin."

"Bye," he said as they walked out the door. "Olivia, can I get a lollipop?"

"Sure," she replied. She took him to the pharmacy downstairs and bought him a grape lollipop, which he sucked contentedly during the ride back to the station.

When they arrived back from the station, Elliot was leading Gavin's parents in for question. His mother broke away from Elliot and ran to him. She threw her arms around Gavin. "My baby!"

Gavin balked at the touch and began to cry. He turned to Olivia accusingly. "You said it was a secret between us. You said you'd keep me safe."

"What are you talking about, baby?" asked his mother.

"Mrs. Carlisle," said Elliot, prying her gently off her son. "Come with me. Mr. Carlisle, Detective Benson will be in to interview you in a few moments."

Olivia lifted Gavin into her arms and murmured, "We're going to go back into the toy room, okay?"

"Will you play with me again?"

"Not right now, sweetie, but my friend George will if you like."

He paused. "Okay."

Olivia signaled for George Huang to come with her.

"Hey, Gavin," said Dr. Huang, kneeling down so he was at eye level with the little boy. "I'm Olivia's friend, George. Do you like Lego? Because when I was your age, I loved Lego."

Gavin nodded shyly.

"Would you like to build something with me."

Gavin nodded again and took Dr Huang's hand.

"I'll be in to see you later," Olivia called as Dr. Huang led the little boy away.

She turned around and went down to the room where Mr. Carlisle was being kept. She sat down across from him. "So, Mr. Carlisle. What happened with your son?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

"Really. So you didn't, by any chance, drop your five-year-old off – alone – at Central Park and tell him to get out of your house?"

Mr. Carlisle laughed. "No. Look, lady, I want my son back. I didn't do anything to him."

"Most five-year-olds don't run away for no reason. Actually, most five-year-olds don't run away at _all_."

"So this is my fault?"

"Yes, Mr. Carlisle, it actually is. We saw the marks on his back."

"It was just a spanking. That wasn't illegal last time I checked."

"Most spankings don't leave huge red welts like the ones we saw on your son's back," snapped Olivia. "That, my friend, is no longer a spanking. That is called child abuse, otherwise known as major jail time – fifteen years to life."

"I didn't hurt my son!" exclaimed Gavin's father.

"Yes, you did. But don't worry about confessing. With the physical evidence and Gavin's statement, our DA will have you rotting in a prison cell for a long, long time."

He laughed. "We'll see."


	4. Chapter 4

"The state calls Detective Olivia Benson," said Alex.

Olivia let go of Gavin's hand. "I'll be back in a sec, okay?"

The little boy nodded and Olivia stepped up to the witness stand. She sat down.

"Detective Benson," began Alex. "When did you first meet Gavin Carlisle?"

"Two days ago," she replied.

"What happened?"

"His parents had called and filed a runaway report. We located him at a subway station. I took him back to the station. He was reluctant to talk at first. He was frightened because his parents had always told him how bad police officers were and it took a bit of time for him to trust me, but eventually he told me about this 'punishment cage' that his parents put him in when he misbehaved. He told me that he didn't run away, but his father had been angry with him for doing something every five-year-old does. He hadn't wanted to finish his vegetables at dinner, so his father wanted to put him in the cage. He refused and so his father dropped his five-year-old son off and Central Park and told him if he couldn't take his punishment like a man he would have to leave."

"What happened then?"

"Gavin was tired. He asked me if he could spend the night at my place. I agreed. In the middle of the night, I woke up and found him crying. Gavin was in the laundry room, washing his sheets and pajamas. He'd wet his bed and was cleaning up. When I walked in, he put his hands over his head and started screaming for me not to hit him. He was _afraid _of me. At first, I thought he was just dreaming, but it was more than that. He was terrified of something. In the end, he explained to me what happened when he wet the bed at home. Apparently, his parents told him that wetting the bed was for babies and he had to be punished every time he did it. He told me how they spanked him – with belts, their fists, even an electrical cord! He told me how they locked him in the basement, how they fed him soap and hot sauce, for the littlest things! I asked him where they hit him and he said everywhere. Then he started crying. He was scared that his parents would find out he'd talked and beat him again. That was it."

"Did you see any of Gavin's injuries?"

"Yes. There were huge red welts and bruises all over his body, in various stages of healing."

"Thank you, Detective," said Alex. She turned to the defense attorney, Roger Kressler. "Your witness."

Kressler approached the witness stand. "Detective Benson, could you say for sure that Gavin's injuries were inflicted by his father?"

"Well, that's what he said, and most abused kids don't lie."

"Gavin Carlisle has a history of acting out and making things up for attention."

"Like that his father beat him?"

"He also accused his father of sexual abuse a year ago. When CPS came to interview him, he denied the claims."

Olivia's heart jumped and she stared at Gavin.

"Detective?"

She found her voice. "Many victims of abuse deny it when confronted because they're scared of what their abuser will do."

"So you're saying that Mr. Carlisle _did _rape his son?"

"I'm saying that you can't say with certainty that Gavin made this up and acting out is a common characteristic of abused children, so your 'evidence' means nothing. Four-year-olds don't generally lie about sexual abuse."

"Exactly. That's precisely my point. This is proof how emotionally unstable the boy is."

"Objection!" said Alex, standing. She had been watching this tennis match with interest, but now she'd had enough. "Is there a question there?"

"Withdrawn. No further questions."

"The state calls Medical Examiner Melinda Warner," said Alex.

Dr. Warner sat down in the witness stand.

"Dr. Warner, did you examine Gavin Carlisle?"

"Yes," she replied.

"What were your findings?" asked Alex.

"There were red welts on his back, bruises on his ribs and stomach, and bruises on his back. I have never seen a worse case of abuse in my life. They were in various stages of healing – yellow, black, purple, blue."

"Thank you, Dr. Warner. Your witness."

"The defense has no questions for this witness."

Olivia squeezed Gavin's hand and smiled to herself. Obviously even Kressler, the slithering snake, realized how undisputable the forensics were.

"The state calls Gavin Carlisle."

Gavin turned white. "Olivia, I don't want to do this."

"You can do this, Gavin," Olivia assured him. "Just like we practiced."

"But Mommy and Daddy are here!"

"They can't hurt you now," she reminded the little boy. "How's this? You just look at me, okay? Pretend your mommy and daddy aren't even there. There's just me and Alex. You remember Alex."

"Yes," replied Gavin reluctantly. "She's nice."

"She is. Now you go on up there and show me what a big boy you are."

Gavin let go of Olivia's hand and made his way to the witness stand. Alex lifted him up into the chair. "Hello, Gavin," she said.

"Hi," he whispered.

"How old are you, Gavin?"

"Five."

"Do you go to school, Gavin?"

"Yeah. I'm in kindergarten."

"Gavin, can you tell everyone why you ran away?"

He glanced at Olivia. "Daddy was mad at me because I was bad and he wanted to put me in the cage, but I didn't want to go. So he told me to get out. He dropped me off at Central Park."

"What's 'the cage'?"

"It's where I go if I'm bad. It's a cage like you put doggies in."

"A kennel?"

"Yeah."

"Did your parents ever hurt you, Gavin?"

He looked right into Alex's eyes. "Yes."

"Could you tell the court what happens if you wet the bed?"

"I get spanked."

"How do your parents punish you if you misbehave?"

"They make me have soap or hot sauce sometimes. Or they spank me. Or they put me in the cage or the basement."

"Thank you, Gavin. No further questions."

Kressler walked up to the little boy. He shrank back. "Gavin, do you know the difference between a truth and a lie?"

"Yes."

"Is what you told Detective Benson about your father a truth or a lie?"

He hesitated. "The truth."

"Was what you told your teacher about your father touching you the truth or a lie?"

Gavin looked at the ground. "The truth."

"Are you sure about that? Because then what you told to the social worker was a lie."

"I don't know."

"Did your father touch your penis, Gavin?"

"Yes."

"While you were in the bath?"

"Sometimes."

"Did he bathe you?"

"Yes."

"That's normal, fatherly behavior," said Kressle.r. "So you just misinterpreted your father's intentions, is that it?"

Gavin began to cry. "I don't know!"

"No further questions."

"You may step down," said the judge.

The little boy jumped off the stand and ran toward Olivia. He climbed into her lap and she stroked his hair comfortingly. "It's over, sweetie. You're safe. It's okay now. You did a good job. You were very, very brave."

He sighed and buried his head in Olivia's chest. "Can I stay with you again tonight?"

Olivia held him close. "Of course."


	5. Chapter 5

Gavin padded into Olivia's bedroom at three in the morning, his face white as a ghost, clutching the nee teddy bear that Olivia had bought for him. "Olivia," he whispered. "I can't sleep."

She rubbed her eyes. "Did you have a bad dream?"

He nodded. "I don't want to be by myself. Can I stay with you?"

She smiled and moved over to make room. "Sure."

Gavin jumped up next to her and laid his head on Olivia's shoulder. He let out a deep sigh and was fast asleep within minutes.

And in the morning for the first time in weeks, the bed Gavin slept in was dry when he awoke.

* * *

"Olivia," said Gavin, bouncing on the bed. "Can we watch a movie?"

"Sure. Which one do you want to watch?"

He thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"Let's see what's on pay per view."

"Okay."

She found them a Disney movie to watch. "Do you want some popcorn?"

He grinned. "I love popcorn!"

Olivia smiled back. "Do you know what I sometimes did with my friends when I was your age?"

"What?"

"We used to have popcorn picnics."

"What's that?" Gavin asked, curious.

"We would put a bunch of different bowls out with different sauces, dips, cheese, and so on and we'd dip the popcorn in it. Some of it was really gross, like one time when we tried it with maple syrup, but it's fun. My personal favorite is cheese."

Gavin smiled. "Okay! Let's do that!"

Olivia laughed and stuck two bags of popcorn into the microwave. "What kind of toppings do you want to try?"

He thought for a moment. "Sugar!"

"Okay. What else?"

"Salt. Butter. Honey."

"Honey?"

Gavin giggled. "Yeah!"

Olivia took out the toppings and put the popcorn into a bowl. She handed Gavin the popcorn bowl and they carried the food into her bedroom and turned on the movie.

"No crumbs," warned Olivia. "I don't fancy sleeping in honey tonight."

Gavin giggled again. "No, ma'am."

She put her arm around him and he leaned against her, taking a cautious bite of sugared popcorn. "It's good!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Olivia laughed and leaned back against the pillows as they finished the movie.


	6. Chapter 6

Gavin stayed with her for the next few weeks. One day, he said casually, "Olivia?"

"Yes?"

"What's going to happen to me?"

"What do you want to happen to you?"

Gavin sighed. "I want to stay here, with you."

Olivia smiled. "I think that can be arranged."

His face lit up. "Really?"

Olivia tousled his hair. "Yeah. Really."

**THE END**


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